Keene Idea | Alpine Beer Company

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On cask at O'Brien's. Apparently the last of batch 1. Tall, thin 10oz glass.

A: Pours a murky straw color, with a thin ring of off white head. Poor retention and no lacing.

S: Some pale malt and a honey-like aroma, a little fruit (tropical and citrus) and spice, but overall very tame. I had to struggle to catch a whiff of anything.

T: Some fruity hop characteristics and rye malt. Ugh, the flatness is destroying the taste for me.

M: Flat, medium body. If I were an optimist I would point out that this hides the high ABV exceptionally well. But I'm not particularly.

O: A flat, less hoppy version of Nelson. Just not very enjoyable. A big disappointment, esp. since Nelson is one of my favorites. The cask did not do this beer any favors, unfortunately, but my fingers are crossed that they'll brew this again.

A: Slightly hazy, orange-golden color with less than one finger of white foam head. Moderate lacing remains on the glass.

S: Very intense at first, with a juicy combination of mixed citrus and tropical fruits. No alcohol is detected.

T: Begins dry, with an early burst of acidic and fruity hop aromatics followed by refined pale malt. Sweetness picks up into the middle where malt loses all semblance of graininess, instead becoming doughy and comparable to a powdered sugar that is heavy on the cornstarch. Flavors are simplistic into the finish where bitterness is more intense than the typical Alpine pale ale. No alcohol is detected.

D/O: While this beer leaves little doubt that it was born in an Alpine fermentation vessel, with a smell that simply oozes nelson hops, it also seems unfinished. Malt qualities are not polished here; base malt is cloying instead of showing off influences from rye or other specialty grains. It may be overrated here due to its ephemeral existence, but it is not the best showcase of Alpine's majestic beers.

Finally getting around to my notes on this taken from my lunch at Alpine right before the holiday's. The beer pours a beautiful light copper with a thin head of beady white foam. The nose is the tell tale Nelson Sauvin hop profile meshed with sweet malty bisquits and the funkiness from the hop bill. For me this is a different beer than the last effort that was either called T-25, Double Nelson or whatever you wanted to call it. This seems a bit hotter, the booze is evident here, its bitter as it should be but almost in an unfinished clunky way that isn't as seamless as the last time I had it. The mouth is fine if not a bit hot but its a joy to drink none the less. I still prefer the regular bottling of Nelson to the more amped up version.

On tap at the pub in Alpine, I was bummed the brewery was closed but this made up for it. More yellow than orange, looks like Nelson. Aroma was super hoppy, fruity and the flavor followed suit but to be honest I prefer Nelson. Nelson just seems to have this peach like quality right down to the fuzziness in the mouthfeel. Still, this is great IPA which is no surprise.